Keevil War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled 26 June 1920, with Second World War additions.

Reasons for Designation

Keevil War Memorial, which is situated outside St Leonard’s churchyard, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* an elegant Latin cross memorial demonstrating fine craftsmanship in the carved decoration to the cross-head and collar.

Group value:

* with the Grade II*-listed Church of St Leonard.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also the official policy of not repatriating the dead which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

One such memorial was raised at Keevil as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the 18 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. The land on which the memorial stands was provided by Major General J B Dickson and funds were raised via public subscription. It was unveiled on 26 June 1920 by the Right Honourable Walter Long MP and dedicated by the vicar, Reverend F Moir Weller. The monogram IHS was originally painted red.

Following the Second World War the names of the two parishioners who died in that conflict were added to the memorial.

In 2011 the memorial underwent conservation and repair.

Details

First World War memorial, 1920, with Second World War additions.

MATERIALS: Doulting stone; slate

DESCRIPTION: Keevil War Memorial is located outside the churchyard of the Grade II*-listed Church of St Leonard.

It is of Doulting stone and takes the form of a Latin cross above a decorative, carved collar which crowns a tapering, octagonal shaft that terminates in inverted, chamfered stops. The cross-head has a gabled canopy with a cusped eaves cornice and the cross arms are supported by carved scroll brackets. To the centre of the cross-head is the monogram IHS carved in relief to the south-west and north-east faces. The shaft rises from a two-tiered, chamfered, square plinth surmounting a square platform with moulded cornice. Projecting from each side of the base of the platform is a small rectangular block in the same style as the platform.

The main inscription wraps round the four faces of the platform carved in relief (starting on the north-east side), IN MEMORY OF/ OUR MEN WHO GAVE/ THEIR LIVES IN THE/ GREAT WAR 1914-19. The 18 names of those who died in the First World War are recorded in incised lettering on slate plaques affixed into inset panels on the faces of the lower tier of the plinth.

The north-east and south-west faces of the upper tier of the plinth carry the dates 1939/ 1945 carved in relief, one to each face respectively. The names of the two casualties from this conflict are recorded in incised lettering on a slate plaque affixed into an inset panel on the north-west face of the upper tier of the plinth.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: The memorial stands on an octagonal stone base within a small, octagonal area of planting; this is bounded by stone kerbs surmounted by eight metal posts* linked by a chain*.

* Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that these aforementioned features are not of special architectural or historic interest.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 13 October 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/24289
War Memorials Online, accessed 13 October 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/130302/
‘Keevil Village War Memorial’, Keevil Village website, accessed 13 October 2017 from http://www.keevilvillage.btck.co.uk/KeevilWarMemorial

Other
Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, (3 July 1920), pp4

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